Sunday night conference call with coach Beamer
Nov. 13, 2022
Coach Beamer following the 38-6 loss at Florida Saturday. The Gamecocks could not run the ball and could not stop the run. They did not score an offensive touchdown. They suffered three turnovers and collected 11 penalties.
Ahead is a monumental task as 5th-ranked Tennessee comes to Williams-Brice Stadium. The Vols are coming off a 66-point performance, and they need impressive wins to show to the College Football Playoff Committee. They are favored by 21 points.
Coach Beamer, on his Sunday night media conference call, felt like his players had flushed the Florida loss and were excited about the challenge of playing the Vols. He also pointed out they will have to be better in a lot of areas to have a chance to pull off the upset.
Beamer: Felt good about the linebacker play against Florida, Greene and Williams played the bulk of the snaps, Johnson had been dealing with the flu and that limited him to 7 snaps.
Beamer: Lloyd and Beal-Smith told him tonight they feel better, optimistic both can play this Saturday.
Beamer: Florida went tempo on them a little more than expected, have to expect them in their last two games.
Beamer: Going to see perimeter plays from opponents until they do a better job of stopping it.
Beamer: Perimeter blocking on runs wasn't good enough and they didn't control the line of scrimmage. It wasn't good enough, have to coach it better and execution has to be better as well.
Beamer: Bell is a "hell of a running back", he's a weapon back there but know they need to get the ball out to him in space as well.
Beamer: Didn't burn tape of Florida game, learned from it but has put that behind them and looking forward.
Beamer: They have a good football, nowhere good enough last night, have to play better and coach better, had won five of six going into the Florida game.
Beamer: Defense was much better against run in second half, proud of that group for the way they battled.
Beamer: Can't run the ball and can't stop the run, and turning the ball over like they did allows a game to get out of hand. Bad penalties also set them back.
Beamer: Those reserve backs are continuing to compete and get better. Comes down to being better in practice and more consistent. All three–Carroll, Amos and Miller–are on special teams. Right now they feel Juju McDowell and Jaheim Bell give them the best chance to win.
Review on the running back issues
Asked about the possibility of giving backup tailbacks Rashad Amos, Dante Miller, and Lovasea Carroll a chance, Beamer said: “Those guys are quality running backs that continue to get better, but right now we feel like Juju and Jaheim give us the best chance to to win football games.”
The Bell experiment at running back has come with mixed results. The Gamecocks were determined to get the ball in their best pure playmaker’s hand handed off to the Florida native 16 times for 56 yards in the win over Vanderbilt a week ago. Saturday, Bell couldn’t muster much of anything against a Florida defense that had allowed 185.33 rush yards per game entering last weekend. He finished the night with 30 yards on 12 carries, while the Gamecocks combined for just 44 yards on 23 carries.
“Jaheim Bell is a hell of a running back,” Beamer said. “Is that his natural position necessarily? No, but watch the way Jaheim ran the ball last night. He really did some good things. Certainly some runs that he would like to have back, but he’s a weapon back there that we want to continue to involve.” McDowell, too, has been effective in spurts, though his 5-foot-9, 177-pound frame limits how much of a bell-cow role he can take. He finished his first year in Columbia third on the team in rushing with 248 yards on 52 carries, while adding another 53 yards on nine receptions. McDowell provided additional value as a kick returner, finishing third in the Southeastern Conference in kickoff returns fourth in kick return yards.
This fall, though, McDowell’s numbers have dipped some. He’s already recorded more carries (53) than he did a year ago, but with less success (195 yards). That’s not all on McDowell, of course, but he’s largely remained a change-of-pace option. “We didn’t control the line of scrimmage,” Beamer said of the Florida loss. “When you watch when we run the football, we’d love to see some knock-back and push up front. And we didn’t have that consistently enough last night as we have in other games.”
Beamer on Sunday said he’s optimistic Lloyd and Beal-Smith could return for this week’s game against No. 5 Tennessee. That’d be a welcome addition, and then some. South Carolina has been at its best in 2022 when running the football effectively. The Gamecocks have averaged over 177 yards per game in contests they’ve won in 2022. That number drops to 52 yards per game in losses.
COACH BEAMER / COURTEST OF SPORTSTALK
Nov. 13, 2022
Coach Beamer following the 38-6 loss at Florida Saturday. The Gamecocks could not run the ball and could not stop the run. They did not score an offensive touchdown. They suffered three turnovers and collected 11 penalties.
Ahead is a monumental task as 5th-ranked Tennessee comes to Williams-Brice Stadium. The Vols are coming off a 66-point performance, and they need impressive wins to show to the College Football Playoff Committee. They are favored by 21 points.
Coach Beamer, on his Sunday night media conference call, felt like his players had flushed the Florida loss and were excited about the challenge of playing the Vols. He also pointed out they will have to be better in a lot of areas to have a chance to pull off the upset.
Beamer: Felt good about the linebacker play against Florida, Greene and Williams played the bulk of the snaps, Johnson had been dealing with the flu and that limited him to 7 snaps.
Beamer: Lloyd and Beal-Smith told him tonight they feel better, optimistic both can play this Saturday.
Beamer: Florida went tempo on them a little more than expected, have to expect them in their last two games.
Beamer: Going to see perimeter plays from opponents until they do a better job of stopping it.
Beamer: Perimeter blocking on runs wasn't good enough and they didn't control the line of scrimmage. It wasn't good enough, have to coach it better and execution has to be better as well.
Beamer: Bell is a "hell of a running back", he's a weapon back there but know they need to get the ball out to him in space as well.
Beamer: Didn't burn tape of Florida game, learned from it but has put that behind them and looking forward.
Beamer: They have a good football, nowhere good enough last night, have to play better and coach better, had won five of six going into the Florida game.
Beamer: Defense was much better against run in second half, proud of that group for the way they battled.
Beamer: Can't run the ball and can't stop the run, and turning the ball over like they did allows a game to get out of hand. Bad penalties also set them back.
Beamer: Those reserve backs are continuing to compete and get better. Comes down to being better in practice and more consistent. All three–Carroll, Amos and Miller–are on special teams. Right now they feel Juju McDowell and Jaheim Bell give them the best chance to win.
Review on the running back issues
Asked about the possibility of giving backup tailbacks Rashad Amos, Dante Miller, and Lovasea Carroll a chance, Beamer said: “Those guys are quality running backs that continue to get better, but right now we feel like Juju and Jaheim give us the best chance to to win football games.”
The Bell experiment at running back has come with mixed results. The Gamecocks were determined to get the ball in their best pure playmaker’s hand handed off to the Florida native 16 times for 56 yards in the win over Vanderbilt a week ago. Saturday, Bell couldn’t muster much of anything against a Florida defense that had allowed 185.33 rush yards per game entering last weekend. He finished the night with 30 yards on 12 carries, while the Gamecocks combined for just 44 yards on 23 carries.
“Jaheim Bell is a hell of a running back,” Beamer said. “Is that his natural position necessarily? No, but watch the way Jaheim ran the ball last night. He really did some good things. Certainly some runs that he would like to have back, but he’s a weapon back there that we want to continue to involve.” McDowell, too, has been effective in spurts, though his 5-foot-9, 177-pound frame limits how much of a bell-cow role he can take. He finished his first year in Columbia third on the team in rushing with 248 yards on 52 carries, while adding another 53 yards on nine receptions. McDowell provided additional value as a kick returner, finishing third in the Southeastern Conference in kickoff returns fourth in kick return yards.
This fall, though, McDowell’s numbers have dipped some. He’s already recorded more carries (53) than he did a year ago, but with less success (195 yards). That’s not all on McDowell, of course, but he’s largely remained a change-of-pace option. “We didn’t control the line of scrimmage,” Beamer said of the Florida loss. “When you watch when we run the football, we’d love to see some knock-back and push up front. And we didn’t have that consistently enough last night as we have in other games.”
Beamer on Sunday said he’s optimistic Lloyd and Beal-Smith could return for this week’s game against No. 5 Tennessee. That’d be a welcome addition, and then some. South Carolina has been at its best in 2022 when running the football effectively. The Gamecocks have averaged over 177 yards per game in contests they’ve won in 2022. That number drops to 52 yards per game in losses.
COACH BEAMER / COURTEST OF SPORTSTALK
Last edited:
